For its last financial year, which ended on 31st December, 2010, the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry (GBTI) achieved an after-tax profit of $1.2 billion, exceeding earnings for the previous year by $213 million or (22%).
According to GBTI’s annual report, total revenue for 2010 amounted to $4,379,000,000, which is up by 14% percent over the figure recorded for 2009. The bank’s revenue in 2010 came predominantly from loans and advances ($1,985,994,000), treasury bills and foreign bank deposits ($868,612,000), and investments ($571,531,000). In 2009, loans and advances were pegged at $1,701,579,000, treasury bills and foreign bank deposits earned $764,080,000 while investments were $361,063,000. A further $952,857,000 was earned last year via “other” means compared to $1,010,232,000 in 2009.
GBTI’s total assets at the end of last year were pegged at $62.6 billion, which reflected growth of $8.8 billion (16 percent) over 2009. Its hold on government treasury bills increased from $18.8 billion in 2009 to $19.2 billion in 2010.
GBTI’s deposit base recorded an overall growth for the year of $8.9 billion or 19.4 percent. According to the report, the bank’s deposit mix was “consistent” with previous years. “The savings deposit category continues to record strong growth ($4 billion in 2010 versus $2.3 billion in 2009), and accounted for $29.1 billion or 55 percent of total deposits,” it said.
Total expenditure for the year was $2,722,000,000 compared to $2,428,000,000 in 2009. “Interest expense accounted for $1,019,000,000 while non-interest expense increased due to the expanding branch network and increased size of operations,” the report stated.
GBTI’s loan portfolio at the end of the year stood at $19.4 billion, which reflected a net growth of $6.2 billion or 48 percent over the $13.1 billion recorded at the end of 2009. This, the report said, was due to “co-ordinated targeted approaches to key industries as well as individuals.” Economic growth in the country, the report said, also influenced the growth of the bank’s portfolio since it aligned itself with the key drivers of the country’s economy. As of December 2010, the bank had loaned some $1,261,000,000 to the agriculture sector while $4,954,000,000 and $3148, 000,000 had been loaned to the household and manufacturing sectors, respectively. A total of $1,378,000,000 had been loaned to persons in the mining and quarrying sector and a further $8,622,000, 000 in the services and distribution sector.
Further, GBTI said its Residential and Low Income Housing Loans grew by more than $1B for the year. It said it had several outreaches at various parts in the country promoting this programme. The bank also participated in the Ministry of Housing’s One Stop Shop Initiative and Building Expo.
Meanwhile, through its Women of Worth (WOW) Programme, GBTI disbursed $93M out of a proposed $500M. The facility, GBTI said, performed credibly with a performance rate of 96 percent.
The WOW initiative is a partnership between GBTI and the Ministry of Human Services where advances are made to single parents who are desirous of starting up small enterprises. GBTI has relaxed its collateral requirements for the programme and has offered an interest rate of six percent with flexible repayment periods.
